In little-publicized comments before a crowd in Lakeview last week, City Council president Jackie Clarkson invoked the 1940s and 1950s as a golden age for New Orleans and said the city is now on a roll that compares with that period.

Brett Duke, The Times-PicayuneJackie Clarkson

The comments apparently were noticed -- and not appreciated -- by some of the hundreds of people who attended a town hall meeting on the budget hosted by Mayor Mitch Landrieu on Tuesday night in eastern New Orleans.

"The things Jackie's thrilled about ... the '50s and '60s were not glory days for me and the rest of the black community," Cantrelle said, according to both accounts. "I don't like sitting on the back of the bus or picketing on the steps of City Hall."

The comment drew cheers and claps from the largely African-American crowd, according to both accounts, and when Clarkson arrived minutes later, she was booed.

Landrieu attempted to explain to Clarkson what the fuss was about, and she asked for a turn at the microphone, starting out by saying "I would never do anything to offend you." Things apparently went downhill from there -- Clarkson said she loved eastern New Orleans, had invested there in the past, and opposed the notion of turning it into green space after Hurricane Katrina.

"If that wasn't enough to prove how much I believe in you ... I don't know what else to do," Clarkson said, according to the Lens.

Clarkson eventually came around to address her earlier comments, saying: "I was referring to my childhood. I had a very happy childhood. I'm not apologizing for that."

The murmurs and groans from the crowd got louder, reaching a crescendo when Clarkson noted that her father's best friend was Morris F.X. Jeff Sr., a "black Ph.D who I adored."

According to the Lens, she concluded her speech by saying: "I have defended you. I don't appreciate the treatment."